Amin Tarif (Arabic: أمين طريف‎, Hebrew: אמין טריף; born 1898, died October 2, 1993) was the qadi, or spiritual leader, of the Druze in Palestine and then Israel from 1928 till his death in 1993. Such was the esteem in which he was held among Druze internationally that Sheikh Amin was regarded by many within the community as the preeminent spiritual authority in the Druze world.[1]

Sheikh Amin was born in 1898 in the village of Julis in Upper Western Galilee. One of four brothers and two sisters, Amin was the youngest son of Sheikh Muhammad Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze in Palestine from 1888 till his death.

In 1911, after graduating from fourth grade, Amin travelled to the Khalwat al-Bayada, near Hasbaya, in Lebanon. There he studied the basics of the Druze religion, graduating in 1918. Returning to Julis, the Sheikh adopted an ascetic lifestyle according to Druze ideals, living modestly from grains grown for his own needs.

In 1928, following the death of his father, it was decided to appoint Amin as spiritual leader of the Druze community. In addition to serving as his community's spiritual leader, Tarif served as Chairman of the Druze Religious Court of Appeals from 1963 and managed the assets of Maqam Nabi Shu'ayb - a religious complex that Druze believe houses the tomb of the Prophet Jethro.[2]

Despite the esteem in which Amin was held, his relationship with Druze in neighbouring states was complicated by the Sheikh's loyalty to the State of Israel. In 1977, following complaints from the community in Lebanon that Israeli shelling threatened the Khalwat al-Bayada, he advised Druze members of the Knesset to ask questions of the Israeli government.[3]

In 1990, Amin was awarded the Israel Prize for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel,[4] being one of the few non-Jews receive this award.

Sheikh Amin died on October 2, 1993. The Israeli President, Ezer Weizman, the Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Chairman of the Knesset were among the dignitaries present at his funeral. Simultaneously, additional ceremonies, attended by tens of thousands of Druze, took place in Syria and Lebanon.

The Sheikh was buried in a room at his family home in Julis. His tomb has since become a place of pilgrimage - large numbers of Druze visit the Sheikh’s resting-place annually on the anniversary of his death.[5]

Sheikh Amin's grandson, Mowafak Tarif, succeeded his father as the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze.

In June 2009 sectarian clashes between Druze and Christian Arab youth in the town of Shfaram were sparked by the posting of a YouTube clip dishonouring Sheikh Amin's memory.[6]

1.
Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested

2.
Hebrew
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Hebrew is a language native to Israel, spoken by over 9 million people worldwide, of whom over 5 million are in Israel. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites and their ancestors, the earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE. Hebrew belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, Hebrew is the only living Canaanite language left, and the only truly successful example of a revived dead language. Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language somewhere between 200 and 400 CE, declining since the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Aramaic and to a lesser extent Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among elites and it survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish commerce, and poetry. Then, in the 19th century, it was revived as a spoken and literary language, and, according to Ethnologue, had become, as of 1998, the language of 5 million people worldwide. After Israel, the United States has the second largest Hebrew-speaking population, with 220,000 fluent speakers, Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of the State of Israel, while premodern Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world today. Ancient Hebrew is also the tongue of the Samaritans, while modern Hebrew or Arabic is their vernacular. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon Hakodesh, the modern word Hebrew is derived from the word Ivri, one of several names for the Israelite people. It is traditionally understood to be a based on the name of Abrahams ancestor, Eber. This name is based upon the root ʕ-b-r meaning to cross over. Interpretations of the term ʕibrim link it to this verb, cross over, in the Bible, the Hebrew language is called Yәhudit because Judah was the surviving kingdom at the time of the quotation. In Isaiah 19,18 it is called the Language of Canaan, Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. In turn, the Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages, according to Avraham ben-Yosef, Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during about 1200 to 586 BCE. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile. In July 2008 Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa which he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating around 3000 years ago. The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic Period, classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that through the Greeks, the Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places where later Hebrew spelling requires it

3.
Druze
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The Druze are an esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia who self-identify as unitarians. Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of all Mandaeans and Mahra from Druze Mountain, the Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn-Ali, al-Hakim, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Akhenaten. The Epistles of Wisdom is the text of the Druze faith. The Druze follow theophany, and believe in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul, at the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achieved through successive reincarnations, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind. Although dwarfed by other, larger communities, the Druze community played an important role in shaping the history of the Levant, even though the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, Druze are not considered Muslims. Fatimid Caliph Ali az-Zahir, whose father al-Hakim is a key figure in the Druze faith, was harsh, causing the death of many Druze in Antioch, Aleppo. Persecution flared up during the rule of the Mamluks and Ottomans, most recently, Druze were targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Al-Qaeda in order to cleanse Syria and neighboring countries of non-Islamic influence. The Druze faith is one of the religious groups in the Levant. They are found primarily in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, with communities in Jordan. The oldest and most densely-populated Druze communities exist in Mount Lebanon, the Druze people reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. The Institute of Druze Studies estimates that forty to fifty percent of Druze live in Syria, thirty to forty percent in Lebanon, six to seven percent in Israel, about two percent of the Druze population are also scattered within other countries in the Middle East. Large communities of Druze also live outside the Middle East, in Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the United States and they use the Arabic language and follow a social pattern very similar to those of the other peoples of the Levant. The number of Druze people worldwide is between 800,000 and one million, with the vast majority residing in the Levant, the name Druze is derived from the name of Muhammad bin Ismail Nashtakin ad-Darazī who was an early preacher. Although the Druze consider ad-Darazī a heretic, the name has been used to identify them, before becoming public, the movement was secretive and held closed meetings in what was known as Sessions of Wisdom. In 1016 ad-Darazi and his followers openly proclaimed their beliefs and called people to them, causing riots in Cairo against the Unitarian movement including Hamza bin Ali. This led to the suspension of the movement for one year, although the Druze religious books describe ad-Darazi as the insolent one and as the calf who is narrow-minded and hasty, the name Druze is still used for identification and for historical reasons. In 1018 ad-Darazi was assassinated for his teachings, some claim that he was executed by Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Some authorities see in the name Druze a descriptive epithet, derived from Arabic dāresah, others have speculated that the word comes from the Persian word Darazo or from Shaykh Hussayn ad-Darazī, who was one of the early converts to the faith

4.
Palestine (region)
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Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel. Historically, it has known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew Pelesheth, the term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term, approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. The term is accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet. The term is used in the Septuagint, who used a transliteration Land of Phylistieim different from the contemporary Greek place name Palaistínē. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, Modern archaeologists and historians of the region refer to their field of study as Levantine archaeology. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region and it ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219–200 BCE. In 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the Hasmonean principality in the Judaean Mountains, from 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, creating a Judaean–Samaritan–Idumaean–Ituraean–Galilean alliance. The Judaean control over the region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea. Between 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, and splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28–30 CE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella

5.
Sheikh
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Sheikh —also transliterated Sheik, Shaik, Shayk, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Shekh and Shaikh— is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates the ruler of a tribe, who inherited the title from his father, Sheikh is given to a royal male at birth, whereas the related title Sheikha is given to a royal female at birth. The word in Arabic stems from a triliteral root connected with age and aging, ش-ي-خ, the term literally means a man of vast power, and nobility, and it is used strictly for the royal families of the Middle East. While the title can be used religiously by Muslims to designate a learned person and it is notably used by Druze for their religious men, but also by Arab Christians for elder men of stature. Its usage and meaning is similar to the Latin senex meaning old, accordingly, the Arabic term for most legislative bodies termed Senate is majlis al-shuyūkh, literally meaning Council of Senators. One prominent example is Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani who initiated the Qadiriyya order which relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Islam, in the Arabian Peninsula, the title is used for royalty, such as kings, princes, and princesses. For example, it was the used in the West to refer to the leaders of Kuwaits ruling Al-Sabah dynasty. The same applies to all the Gulf countries, the term is used by almost every male and female member of all the Gulf royal houses. The term sheikh is known to have bestowed upon the families who battled with the Emir Fakhr al-Din in the historical Battle of Anjar. Note that the term is not used for the seven traditional Beiruti families, the other families that have this term did not rule any territory in previous ages. Instead, they were high-ranking employees or secretaries in the Ottoman Empire, or political allies of the rulers at that time, in the Maghreb, during the Almohad dynasty, the caliph was also counseled by a body of shaykhs. They represented all the different tribes under their rules, including Arabs, Andalusians, in the Muslim parts of the Horn of Africa, Sheikh is often used as a noble title. In Somali society, it is reserved as an honorific for senior Muslim leaders and clerics, in West Africa, sheikh is a common title for Muslim scholars and leaders. Among Islamic communities in Senegal, Niger and Gambia, among other areas, after the advent of Islam in South Asia, some high caste tribes also converted to Islam and adopted the title. The Muslims of the Middle East and Central Asia have historically traveled to South Asia as Sufis during the Islamic Sultanates and Mughal Empire, in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, Sheikhs are respected by local Muslims. Religious preachers or teachers in Indonesia are usually referred to as Ustad or Kyiayi Historically, notable shaykha include the 10th-century Shaykhah Fakhr-un-Nisa Shuhdah and 18th-century scholar Al-Shaykha Fatima al-Fudayliyya. A daughter or wife or mother of a sheikh is also called a shaykhah, currently, the term shaykhah is commonly used for women of ruling families, in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf with the exception of Oman. Kashmiri Shaikh Khawaja Shaikh Punjabi Shaikh Qallu Qanungoh Shaikh Quraishi Shaikhs in South Asia Sindhi Shaikh Allamah The dictionary definition of sheik at Wiktionary

6.
Julis
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Julis is a Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 6,118, according to local legend, the name is derived from Julius, the name of a Roman commander who camped in the area. Others say it is from the Arabic word for sitting - jalis, as it is located on lower hills than the surrounding villages, according to the 1596 Ottoman tax records Julis had a predominantly Muslim population, with a total of 79 households. The taxable produce comprised wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, Julis also had a press for olive oil or grape syrup. During the 16th century there was also a small Jewish population, in the early part of the 18th century Julis was one of the major cotton producing villages in the area. Later in the century it was one of five villages in nahiya Sahil Akka, which were owned directly by the governor of Acre. A map by Pierre Jacotin from Napoleons invasion of 1799 showed the place, in 1875, the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village, which he called Djoules. He noted that before arriving at Julis I came upon a small plateau pierced by many cisterns, the cisterns and the cut stones which are built up in the modern houses show that the place is the site of an ancient town or village. On a neighbouring hill a waly is consecrated to the Sheikh Aly, in 1881, the Palestine Exploration Funds Survey of Western Palestine described Julis as a village built of stone containing about 200 Druzes, surrounded by olives and arable land. In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Jules had a population of 446 residents,442 Druzes,3 Christians and 1 Muslim. In the 1931 census it had increased to a population of 614,586 Druse,26 Christians, in 1945 the population of Julis was 820, all Arabs, and the total land area was 14,708 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this,1,347 dunams were plantations and irrigable land,6,568 used for cereals, Julis was captured by the Israeli army during Operation Dekel, 8–14 July 1948. Unlike many of the villages the inhabitants remained in their homes. In 1967, Julis achieved local council status, the head of the council was Salman Hino. At the end of 2007, the town had 5,400 residents, the annual population growth rate was 1. 8%. In 2000, a percentage of all high school students received a matriculation certificate. The mean income was NIS5,067 per month, compared to an average of NIS6,743. Druze Center House Maqam Shaykh al-Farsi - This is located to the south of the old village, in an open area there are two cenotaphs with inscriptions which record the life of Shaykh al-Farsi

7.
Galilee
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Al-Jalīl) is a region in northern Israel. The term Galilee traditionally refers to the part and divided into Upper Galilee. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative Northern District of the country, the regions Israelite name is from the Hebrew root galil, an ultimately unique word for district, and usually circle. The Hebrew form used in Isaiah 8,23 is in the state, glil hagoyim, meaning Galilee of the Nations. The region in turn gave rise to the English name for the Sea of Galilee referred to as such in many languages including ancient Arabic and these are the three names used in originally internal Jewish-authored literature rather than the Sea of Galilee. However, Jews did use the Galilee to refer to the whole region, most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700 m. Several high mountains are in the region, including Mount Tabor and Mount Meron, as a result of this climate, flora and wildlife thrive in the region, while many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the Hula–Jordan corridor. According to the Bible, Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the region of Naphthali and Dan. However, Dan was dispersed among the people rather than isolated to the lands of Dan, as the Tribe of Dan was the hereditary local law enforcement. Normally, Galilee is just referred to as Naphthali, hiram, to reciprocate previous gifts given to David, accepted the upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali and renamed it the land of Cabul for a time. After Judea became a Roman province in 6, C. E. Galilee briefly became a part of it, the Galilee region was presumably the home of Jesus during at least 30 years of his life. Much of the first three Gospels of the New Testament give an account of Jesus public ministry in this province, particularly in the towns of Nazareth, Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus performed many public miracles, including curing a blind man. After the death of Jesus, some accounts suggest his disciples returned to Galilee, many are cited for their large number of students and followers throughout the Jewish people among the common people. According to the Talmud, one of the most important founders of the modern Jewish faith, simeon bar Yochai, one of the most famed of all the Tannaim, hid from the Romans in the Galilee, and dug tunnels there to hide. Many miracles are ascribed to him during his Galilean period after escaping Judea proper, in medieval Hebrew legend, he may have written the Zohar while there. Eastern Galilee retained a Jewish majority until the seventh century, after the Arab caliphate took control of the region in 638, it became part of Jund al-Urdunn. Its major towns were Tiberias, Baysan, Acre, Saffuriya, the Shia Fatimids conquered the region in the 10th century, a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, formed the Druze religion, centered in Mount Lebanon and partially Galilee. During the Crusades, Galilee was organized into the Principality of Galilee, the Jewish population of Galilee increased significantly following their expulsion from Spain and welcome from the Ottoman Empire

8.
Lebanon
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Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy. In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Umyayad, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943

9.
Nabi Shu'ayb
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The identity of Shuayb with the Jethro, however, is a Muslim and Druze tradition rather than historical fact. Prophet shuayb is the 14th prophet, Nabi Shuayb was an object of traditional veneration by Druze and Sunni Muslims through Palestine. The shrine figured down to Israeli-Arab war of 1948 as a place where both Sunni Muslims and Druze took vows and made ziyarat, after the 1948 war, Israel placed the maqam or shrine under exclusive Druze care. A central figure in the Druze religion, the tomb of Nabi Shuaib, has been a site of pilgrimage for the Druze for centuries. Shrines dedicated to Nabi Shuaib are common throughout the Greater Syria region, in the final years of the British Mandate in Palestine, a dispute had raged over the shrine between Sunni and Druze communities. Sole custodianship of the tomb was transferred to the Druze community by the Israeli authorities, in Islamic and Druze tradition, it is believed that towards the end of his life, Shuayb took refuge in a cave outside Hittin, where he eventually died of old age. His followers buried him at the site and placed a tombstone at his grave, the tradition holds that when Saladins dream was realized, the Druze built a shrine for Shuayb at the site. Nabi Shuayb has been expanded and renovated over time, the older section of the existing structure was built in the 1880s, under the direction of Sheikh Muhanna Tarif, the shaykh al-aql of Julis. Sheikh Muhanna summoned an assembly of leaders in the community to discuss. When Palestine came under British Mandate rule, a dispute broke out between the Druze and the Higher Islamic Council over who exercised custodianship over the site of Nabi Shuayb. Under the leadership of Sheikh Amin Tarif, the shrine was then renovated, the Israeli government also paved the road leading to Nabi Shuayb and provided electricity and water infrastructure services there. The first mention of the dates back to the 12th century CE. According to Druze tradition, the imprint of Shuaibs left foot can be seen on the grave, pilgrims visiting the site pour oil into the imprint, and then rub the oil over their body in order to be blessed with good fortune. The Druze customarily had no fixed date for their annual pilgrimage, during the festivities, mass celebrations are held at Nabi Shuaib, and Druze religious leaders gather there for ritual purposes and to discuss religious questions. Prior to Israels establishment, Druze from Syria and Lebanon also used to participate in the festival, Israeli Druze Amin Tarif Ziyarat al-Nabi Shuayb

10.
Ezer Weizman
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Ezer Weizman listen was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force, Weizman was born in Tel Aviv in the British Mandate of Palestine on 15 June 1924. His father, Yechiel, was an agronomist, Weizman was a nephew of Israels first president, Chaim Weizmann. He grew up in Haifa, and attended the Hebrew Reali School and he married Reuma Schwartz, sister of Ruth Dayan, wife of Moshe Dayan, and they had two children, Shaul and Michal. He received his training in the British Army in which he enlisted in 1942 during World War II and he served as a truck driver in the Western Desert campaigns in Egypt and Libya. In 1943, he joined the British Royal Air Force and attended school in Rhodesia. He served with the RAF in India in early 1944, Weizman ended his service in the RAF as a sergeant pilot. Between 1944 and 1946, he was a member of the Irgun underground in Mandatory Palestine, between 1946 and 1947, he studied aeronautics in England. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Weizman was a pilot for the Haganah in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and he was the commander of the Negev Air Squadron near Nir-Am. An RAF Hawker Tempest was shot down by the IAF, resulting in the death of the pilot, due to a failure by ground crewmen, most of the RAF aircraft were not armed. Weizman joined the Israel Defense Forces and served as the Chief of Operations on the General Staff, in 1951 he attended the RAF Staff College, Andover in England. Upon his return he became commander of Ramat David and he served as the commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1958 and 1966, and later served as deputy Chief of the General Staff. A total of 400 enemy planes were destroyed by the Israeli Air Force on the 1st day of the 6 Day War, in 1966, he oversaw the defection of an Iraqi fighter pilot and his MiG fighter which gave Israel vital intelligence information. Although he became the IDFs Deputy Chief of Staff in 1966, upon retiring from the military, Weizman joined the right-wing Gahal party. He served as Minister of Transportation in Levi Eshkols national unity government until Gahal left the coalition in 1970, Weizman quit Gahal in 1972, but returned in 1976, by which time it had become Likud. In 1977, he became Defense Minister under Menachem Begin, during his term, Israel developed the IAI Lavi fighter and launched the Litani Operation against the PLO in south Lebanon. During this operation his own son, Saul, suffered an injury from a snipers bullet which left him in a vegetive state. When the commission confirmed that the Beit Jala story was true he fired the military Governor of the West Bank, Brigadier General David Hagoel, over time, Weizmans views became more dovish

11.
Yitzhak Rabin
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Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995, Rabin was born in Jerusalem to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants and was raised in a Labor Zionist household. He learned agriculture in school and excelled as a student and he led a 27-year career as a soldier. As a teenager he joined the Palmach, the force of the Yishuv. He eventually rose through its ranks to become its chief of operations during Israels War of Independence and he joined the newly formed Israel Defense Forces in late 1948 and continued to rise as a promising officer. He helped shape the training doctrine of the IDF in the early 1950s and he was appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1964 and oversaw Israels victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. Rabin served as Israels ambassador to the United States from 1968 to 1973 and he was appointed Prime Minister of Israel in 1974, after the resignation of Golda Meir. In his first term, Rabin signed the Sinai Interim Agreement and he resigned in 1977 in the wake of a financial scandal. Rabin was Israels minister of defense for much of the 1980s, in 1992, Rabin was re-elected as prime minister on a platform embracing the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. He signed several agreements with the Palestinian leadership as part of the Oslo Accords. In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize together with long-time political rival Shimon Peres, Rabin also signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. In November 1995, he was assassinated by an extremist named Yigal Amir, Rabin was the first native-born prime minister of Israel, the only prime minister to be assassinated and the second to die in office after Levi Eshkol. Rabin has become a symbol of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Nehemiah Rubitzov was born in the shtetl Sydorovychi near Ivankiv in the southern Pale of Settlement. His father Menachem died when he was a boy, and Nehemiah worked to support his family from an early age, at the age of 18, he emigrated to the United States, where he joined the Poale Zion party and changed his surname to Rabin. In 1917, Nehemiah went to Mandatory Palestine with a group of volunteers from the Jewish Legion, yitzhaks mother, Rosa Cohen, was born in 1890 in Mogilev in Belarus. Her father, a rabbi, opposed the Zionist movement and sent Rosa to a Christian high school for girls in Gomel, early on, Rosa took an interest in political and social causes. In 1919, she traveled to the region on the steamship Ruslan, after working on a kibbutz on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, she moved to Jerusalem. Rabins parents met in Jerusalem during the 1920 Nebi Musa riots and they moved to Tel Avivs Chlenov Street near Jaffa in 1923

12.
Knesset
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The Knesset is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister, approves the cabinet, in addition, the Knesset elects the State Comptroller. The Prime Minister may also dissolve the Knesset, however, until an election is completed, the Knesset maintains authority in its current composition. The Knesset is located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, as the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the president, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government through its committees. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the President and the State Comptroller from office, the Knesset is presided over by a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. The Knesset is divided into committees, which amend bills on the appropriate subjects, Committee chairpersons are chosen by their members, on recommendation of the House Committee, and their factional composition represents that of the Knesset itself. Committees may elect sub-committees and delegate powers to them, or establish joint committees for issues concerning more than one committee, to further their deliberations, they invite government ministers, senior officials, and experts in the matter being discussed. There are four types of committees in the Knesset, permanent committees amend proposed legislation dealing with their area of expertise, and may initiate legislation. However, such legislation may only deal with Basic Laws and laws dealing with the Knesset, elections to the Knesset, Knesset members, or the State Comptroller. Special committees function in a manner to permanent committees, but are appointed to deal with particular manners at hand. Parliamentary inquiry committees are appointed by the plenum to deal with issues viewed as having national importance. The Ethics Committee is responsible for jurisdiction over Knesset members who violate the rules of ethics of the Knesset, within the framework of responsibility, the Ethics Committee may place various sanctions on a member, but is not allowed to restrict a members right to vote. The Knesset numbers 120 members, a subject which has often been a cause for proposed reforms and this proposed law has also been favoured by other politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu. The 120 members of the Knesset are popularly elected from a single electoral district to concurrent four-year terms. All Israeli citizens 18 years or older may vote in legislative elections, Knesset seats are allocated among the various parties using the DHondt method of party list proportional representation. A party or electoral alliance must pass the threshold of 3. 25% of the overall vote to be allocated a Knesset seat. Parties select their candidates using a closed list, thus, voters select the party of their choice, not any specific candidate. The electoral threshold was set at 1% from 1949 to 1992, then 1. 5% from 1992 to 2003

13.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam

14.
Shfaram
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Shefa-Amr, also Shfaram is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 40,017, with a Sunni Muslim majority alongside large Christian, palmer writes that the name meant, The margin or edge of Amr. Locally and erroneously supposed to mean the healing of Amer, walls, installations and pottery sherds from the Early Bronze Age IB and the Middle Bronze Age IIB Iron, Hellenistic and Roman periods have been excavated at Shefa-Amr. Settlement has existed there without interruption since the Roman period, when it was one of the mentioned in the Talmud as containing the seat of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Decorated burial caves were documented by the Survey of Western Palestine in the nineteenth century. They found the caves to be Christian tombs from the Byzantine era, archeological excavations of a cave and quarries revealed that they were used in the Roman and Byzantine eras. Shefa-Amr contains Byzantine remains, including of a church and tombs, a salvage dig was conducted in the southern quarter of the old city exposing remains from five phases in the Late Byzantine and early Umayyad periods. Also discovered were glass and pottery vessels, under the Crusaders the place was known as Safran, Sapharanum, Castrum Zafetanum, Saphar castrum or Cafram. The Crusader built a fortress, used by the Knights Templar, at the foot of the castle was a fortified settlement with a church, inhabited either by local Christians or Crusaders. The village, then called Shafar Am, was used by Saladin between 1190–91 and 1193-94 as a base for attacks on Acre. By 1229, the place was back in Crusader hands, and it was confirmed as such by Sultan Baybars in the treaty of 1271. Italian monk Riccoldo da Monte di Croce visited the village in 1287-88 and it apparently was under Mamluk control by 1291, as it was mentioned in that year when sultan al-Ashraf Khalil allocated the towns income to a charitable organization in Cairo. In the early decades of that there had been a very small number of Jews mentioned. A firman dated to 1573 mentioned that Shefa-Amr was among a group of villages in the nahiya of Akka which had rebelled against the Ottoman administration, by 1577, the village had accumulated an arsenal of 200 muskets. In the 1596 daftar, Shefa-Amr was part of the nahiya of Akka with a population of 83 households, the taxable produce comprised occasional revenues and goats and beehives. Its inhabitants also paid for the use or ownership of an oil press. It was not until the 18th century that the rose to prominence. At the beginning of the century the village was under control of Shaykh Ali Zaydani and it is also known that there was a castle in the village at least as early as 1740

15.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records

Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and

1.
The Galland Manuscript of One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century

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al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (Naskh script)

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Bilingual traffic sign in Qatar.

Hebrew
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Hebrew is a language native to Israel, spoken by over 9 million people worldwide, of whom over 5 million are in Israel. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites and their ancestors, the earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE. Hebrew belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languag

Druze
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The Druze are an esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia who self-identify as unitarians. Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of all Mandaeans and Mahra from Druze Mountain, the Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn-Ali, al-Hakim, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Akhenaten. T

1.
Sixth caliph of the Fatimids, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

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Fakhreddin castle in Palmyra

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Druze woman wearing a tantour during the 1870s in Chouf, Lebanon

Palestine (region)
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Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin

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A 1759 map entitled The Holy Land, or Palestine, showing not only the Ancient Kingdoms of Judah and Israel in which the 12 Tribes have been distinguished, but also their placement in different periods as indicated in the Holy Scriptures by Tobias Conrad Lotter, Geographer. Augsburg, Germany

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Depiction of Biblical Palestine in c. 1020 BCE according to George Adam Smith 's 1915 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land. Smith's book was used as a reference by Lloyd George during the negotiations for the British Mandate for Palestine.

3.
Herod's Temple in Jerusalem functioned as the spiritual center of the various sects of Second Temple Judaism until it was destroyed in 70 CE. This picture shows the temple as imagined in 1966 in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem.

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The Dome of the Rock, the world's first great work of Islamic architecture, constructed in 691.

Sheikh
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Sheikh —also transliterated Sheik, Shaik, Shayk, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Shekh and Shaikh— is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates the ruler of a tribe, who inherited the title from his father, Sheikh is given to a royal male at birth, whereas the related title Sheikha is given to a royal female at birth. The word in Ar

Julis
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Julis is a Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 6,118, according to local legend, the name is derived from Julius, the name of a Roman commander who camped in the area. Others say it is from the Arabic word for sitting - jalis, as it is located on lower hills than the surrounding village

1.
ג'וּלִס, ג'וליס ‎

2.
Grave of Sheikh Ali Fares, Julis

Galilee
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Al-Jalīl) is a region in northern Israel. The term Galilee traditionally refers to the part and divided into Upper Galilee. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative Northern District of the country, the regions Israelite name is from the Hebrew root galil, an ultimately unique word for district, and usually circle. The Hebrew

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An orchard in Upper Galilee

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Keshet Cave (Rainbow Cave or Cave of the Arch), a natural arch on the ridge north of Nahal Betzet, Galilee

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Map of Galilee, circa 50 CE

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Sea of Galilee as seen from the Moshava Kinneret

Lebanon
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Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At j

1.
The Fall of Tripoli to the Egyptian Mamluks and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli, 1289

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Flag

3.
Fakhreddine II Palace, 17th century

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1862 map drawn by the French expedition of Beaufort d'Hautpoul, later used as a template for the 1920 borders of Greater Lebanon.

Nabi Shu'ayb
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The identity of Shuayb with the Jethro, however, is a Muslim and Druze tradition rather than historical fact. Prophet shuayb is the 14th prophet, Nabi Shuayb was an object of traditional veneration by Druze and Sunni Muslims through Palestine. The shrine figured down to Israeli-Arab war of 1948 as a place where both Sunni Muslims and Druze took vow

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The complex hosting the tomb

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The courtyard of the complex

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Another courtyard view

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Druze scouts visiting the tomb

Ezer Weizman
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Ezer Weizman listen was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force, Weizman was born in Tel Aviv in the British Mandate of Palestine on 15 June 1924. His father, Yechiel, was an agronomist, Weizman was a nephew of Israels first president, Chaim

1.
Ezer Weizman

2.
Weizman sits upon the wing root of an Avia S-199, a Czech built version of the Bf 109.

3.
King Mahendra of Nepal (left) visiting Israel, accompanied by Shimon Peres, Director General of the Ministry of Defense (middle), and Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Ezer Weizman (right), 1958.

Yitzhak Rabin
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Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995, Rabin was born in Jerusalem to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants and was raised in a Labor Zionist household. He learned agriculture in school and excelled as a student a

Knesset
–
The Knesset is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister, approves the cabinet, in addition, the Knesset elects the State Comptroller. The Prime Minister may also dissolve the Knesset, however, until an election is complete

3.
Knesset chamber, celebrating 61 years of the Knesset

4.
Historic engraving on the Frumin House, King George St., Jerusalem.

Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of th

1.
Female figurine, 5000 BC. Ancient Orient Museum.

2.
Flag

3.
God head, the kingdom of Yamhad (c. 1600 BC)

4.
Ebla royal palace c. 2400 BC

Shfaram
–
Shefa-Amr, also Shfaram is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 40,017, with a Sunni Muslim majority alongside large Christian, palmer writes that the name meant, The margin or edge of Amr. Locally and erroneously supposed to mean the healing of Amer, walls, installations and pottery sherds from the Early

1.
View of Shefa-'Amr

2.
Logo

3.
Christian Byzantine graves, 5th and 6th century CE.

4.
Shefa-'Amr, 1910

Virtual International Authority File
–
The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transition